In the modern world the information flows constantly between individuals, companies, organizations, and governments. Information can be defined as knowledge which is derived from study, experience; information can also be defined as a collection of facts or observations. There are many different reasons why information is exchanged, however perhaps the simplest and most common reason for information exchange is the sharing of knowledge. For example, in the science community, new discoveries are often shared with others in the same fields as the original discovers. This sharing opens up new avenues for a discovery to be further analyzed, criticized, and refined by others who have something to add to the information. Thus, information can be expanded and improved through sharing. In other cases information may be exchanged in an attempt to gain an advantage over competing or opposing entities. For example, marketing companies may sell information about potential customers to companies, thus granting companies the ability to further target and refine their products in an attempt to sell more products by appealing to the behavior and personality of their customers. Another good example of the value of information can be seen in military applications. Covertly obtaining information about an opposing force can grant various different advantages. For example an army which knows more about the composition and deployment of an opposing army can react accordingly, and thus drastically increase their chances of winning any subsequent engagements. Any information obtained by a scout must be exchanged with a command facility where commanding officers can analyze the information and transmit appropriate orders to their forces.
Of course, there are many other reasons for obtaining and exchanging information which do not revolve around the neutralization of a hostile enemy force. Perhaps one of the most common reasons for exchanging information in the modern world is to express personal ideas and opinions. This has resulted in the creation and refinement of a massive social network in which nearly every word and picture by a single user can be accessed and commented on by all other users in the network. Current social networks are driven primarily by connection to the internet. The internet is a massive network of computer networks which all communicate using standard information exchange protocols. The internet allows for rapid exchange of digitized information and is capable of exchanging text, voice, pictures, and videos between users.
Access to the internet has increased drastically over recent years, with nearly every modern mobile communications device available to the public being capable of accessing the internet via telecommunications towers. Additionally most mobile communications devices are also capable of connecting to wireless networks which cover small areas and offer fast connection to the internet by virtue of a wireless router. Resultantly, the internet is inarguably one of the most, if not the most significant vehicle for information exchange in the modern world. Despite the massive, advanced, and rapid information exchange potentials of the internet, people still exchange information through more conventional means such as through vocal and written communication. Vocal and written communication is often used as initial exchanges of contact information between individuals. For example, two businessmen may exchange business cards on which their respective contact information is printed. This allows the two businessmen to further communicate with one another remotely such as via email or telecommunications. This is a rather primitive method of exchanging information when compared to modern methods like the internet, and there are a number of disadvantages involved. For example, the information printed on the business card must eventually be entered into a digital contacts list such that it may be stored for later use. It is possible to lose the business card before the information is input into a digital format. With voice communication, the information is often stored within the mind of the person receiving the information, and thus it is even easier to lose the information before it is stored digitally as the person may simply forget what they were trying to remember. It is clear that there is a need for a better way to initially exchange information between individuals such that digital information exchange can proceed between them at a later date.